Saturday, July 12, 2014

Windshield Damage: Repair Rather Than Replace

Your vehicle's windshield glass is engineered to take a beating, yet it is not invulnerable. Wintertime - with all the snow, ice and gravel on the roads - is perhaps the worst enemy of your vehicle's windshield. Drastic temperature changes that occur when a driver warms up the insides of his vehicle too quickly can put so much stress on the windshield glass (especially if it has already been compromised) that it cracks. Does your windshield glass have a weak spot? If so, your vehicle is not completely prepared for the winter.

It's interesting how even the smallest crack on your windshield can cause a lot of disturbance while driving! A chipped or cracked windshield is not only very annoying, but it can also be unsafe, because even small divides into your windscreen can obscure your vision, compromise the overall toughness of your windshield - and even the construction rigidity of your vehicle as a whole. Besides, a small damage on your windshield can easily turn into a bigger one over time: if left untreated, a small crack can spread across the windshield into a spider web-like damage!

The glass that your windshield is made from is different from the one used to manufacture your car's side and rear windows. That's why your windshield glass behaves differently when damaged: it will not shatter into pieces not crack entirely - like the tempered glass often does. Windshield glass is laminated: it is made from two layers of glass, with a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) layer in the middle. To serve its function, your windshield must be properly installed, and completely undamaged. Otherwise, your safety and the safety of all the passengers in the vehicle is compromised.

The windshield is more than just a "shield", a protection from wind and dust - it is an important structural element of your vehicle. It plays a crucial role in the roof crash protection in the case of a roll-over accident. There is another hidden danger in driving an automobile with a cracked, or otherwise compromised windshield: the passenger side airbag is designed to use your vehicle's windshield as a backstop in the case of an accident. If the windshield is in any way impaired, the passenger side airbag may not deploy properly! Yes, even the smallest crack on your windshield is effectively making your car unsafe to drive!

Luckily, a complete windshield replacement is not the only option you have when faced with the automobile glass damage! Today, modern technology makes it possible to repair all kind of small breaks on the windshield: "bull’s eye", star, half-moon, or a combination type of damage. Windshield repair is a permanent process that uses cycles of vacuum and pressure, and involves removing the air from the break and filling it with a liquid, optically matched resin. This material will cure under the ultraviolet light, bonding the glass together. This seals the break to prevent it from spreading, and restores the strength and structural integrity of the windshield while significantly improving the break appearance.

Windshield repair is convenient, safe, effective and economical. Windshield repair can be done while you wait at the repair facility: often, the repair can be completed in under half an hour. The repairer with mobile equipment can even come to your place. Another good news is that many insurance companies cover automobile glass repair, and waive your deductible. So, windshield repair may even turn out to be free. All you have to lose is a few minutes of your time!

Whether you will have to replace your windshield, or the glass can be repaired, depends on the size, location and severity of the damage. Most windshield repair shops can repair quarter-sized rock chips and cracks up to three inches long, though there are some using the technique that allows them to repair cracks up to twelve inches long. Typically, only the breaks in the non-acute area (the area that is not right in front of a driver) are repaired.

It is important to react quickly when the windshield damage occurs, because it is more likely that a damage can be repaired while it is still small. Once dirt and debris start collecting in the crack, causing the break to spread, you may have to have the windshield replaced. Don't let the damage remain on your windshield for too long without having it fixed!


Patsco Windshield Repair offers windshield repair in Houston. Free with approved insurance, considered no fault. Fast, 15 minutes.

Posted By: AZ Wakulla Glass  http://azwakullaglass.com